Nov 3rd to 6th - Mesa

Nov 3^rd – Sat - Mesa

After enjoying our morning coffee, I put a roast in the crock pot and then we cleaned up Ernie & Dianne’s driveway & hosed all the dust off the siding, table & chairs.  Dennis & Gloria stopped by and we took them to see Neal & Judi’s fan in their carport.  Neal & Judi weren’t home so we just checked it out and rode past Mike & Susie’s.  We followed them in their car to their new home in the Ranchos area of the park so we could see it.  They are having some warranty work & flooring done so won’t be moving in for a couple of weeks.

I made breakfast for lunch and then Moe & Trish & Dennis & Gloria came over and we discussed upcoming trips.  We had a bit of down time before we walked over to welcome Ernie & Dianne who we had invited for dinner.  We invited people over after dinner to say hi to E&D and ended up with quite a group who pretty much cleaned up the brownies that I made for dessert.

Nov 4^th – Sun

We played golf with Ron & Terri, Bob & Darlene and Brad & Clare.  The ladies followed the men again and did a great job of keeping up with them.  Too bad my golf game didn’t keep up with the last game at the same course.  Terry wore his new plaid shorts (!!) and did very well so he figured he will keep & wear them!  We all headed to the same sports bar that we went to last week but it was jammed with people watching sports (go figure!) so we went to Red Robin instead.

At 4 we gathered at Brad & Clare’s for appies & drinks – us, Ron & Terri, Bob & Darlene, Joe & Stella, Bev, Wolf & Barbara and Jim & Carolyn.  During a conversation, Brad discovered that he & Clare recently met and exchanged email addresses with Jim’s son.  Small world at work again!

We had just finished eating leftovers for dinner when a few people dropped by to continue partying at our place.

Nov 5^th – Mon

We went on the breakfast bike ride this morning with about 18 other people.  We rode about 12 miles and ate at the Giant Burger at Lindsey & Broadway and which does serve breakfast, not just burgers.  When we got back we went to the Country Store in the ballroom and also put money on our laundry card.

Yes, laundry again.  This time we made a quick trip to Albertsons for a few groceries while the clothes were in the washers.

Before we did the laundry, Dennis & Gloria stopped on their way home from bocce ball to chat with us and Moe & Trish who were passing time while their motor home was being washed & waxed. 

Terry helped Moe put things back when his rig was done and I got to read & relax for a while.  Then it was time to change clothes and go to Moe & Trish’s for a drink before going to dinner with them and Dennis & Gloria.  Someone opened his mouth and let the cat out of the bag so the dinner was a celebration of our 35^th wedding anniversary.  We went to Carrabba’s which is an Italian restaurant and had a great time.  Trish was the designated driver and drove our truck since it holds 6.

When we got back from dinner, we joined a group at Bob & Darlene’s for more fun.  Talk about filling up a day.

Nov 6^th – Tues

This morning we, Dennis & Gloria, Ron & Terri, Ernie & Dianne, Moe & Trish and Bob & Darlene went to Saguaro Lake where we rented a pontoon boat for 5 hours.  We all packed lunches & beverages and most of us wore bathing suits under our clothes.  We pulled away from the dock just before 11 in absolutely wonderful sunny weather.  We motored slowly along the shore of the narrow, winding lake.  We stopped at what from a distance appeared to be a sandy beach but which turned out to be rocky and strewn with rubbish once we went through weeds to get there.  When we left, Moe took over the driving from Dennis and shortly after we tied up at a dock where there were picnic tables & restrooms.  We all ate our lunches and reluctantly used the grubby restrooms. 

The scenery was gorgeous with still water, lots of saguaro cacti on the hillsides and little birds ducking under the water as we passed.  There were only a few other boaters on the lake.  Moe drove for a bit more and thought the motor wasn’t responding right and Dennis agreed when he drove again.  They stopped the boat and Moe climbed down the ladder by the engine and discovered lots of weeds still wrapped around the prop.  The boat ran much more smoothly once he pulled all the weeds out.

Part way back Moe wanted to go swimming so we just stopped and drifted a while.  The water was fairly cool but Moe, Darlene, Bob, Trish, Ron and I went swimming.  After the initial shock of cold water, it was really nice.

We actually got back to the dock nearly an hour before our 5 hour limit.  We all had enough sun, food & drink and we all had a wonderful time.  I went shopping with Trish for a few groceries, we had dinner and OD’d on presidential election results on TV.